Saint Mary Parish Saint Paul Parish 4001 Saint Mary s Drive Anacortes, WA 98221 360.293.2101 v 360.293.8556 f www.stmaryanacortes.org St. Paul Church and Fr. Twohy Spiritual Center 17456 Pioneer Pkwy. La Conner, WA98257 Mail: c/o 4001 Saint Mary s Drive Anacortes, WA 98221 February 25, 2018 Second Sunday of Lent Liturgy Schedule Saint Mary Parish Celebration of the Eucharist Weekend Saturday Vigil Mass... 5:00 p.m. Sunday Mass.. 8:00 a.m., 11:00 a.m. Weekday Tuesday...6:00 p.m. Wednesday Saturday.. 9:00 a.m. First Friday Mass....... 9:00 a.m. First Saturday Sacrament of Reconciliation....9:00 a.m. Benediction and Mass 10:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation Half hour before Daily Mass in addition to the following: Saturday.. 3:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. Sunday..... 7:30 a.m.; 10:00 a.m. Our Sacred Purpose Our purpose at St. Mary Parish is to live our devotion to Christ in the Eucharist and our compassion for Christ in one another, to build a welcoming community that will love and serve God and neighbor, and share the Good News of Jesus Christ. From the shining cloud the Father's voice is heard: This is my beloved Son, listen to him. Matthew 17:5 Liturgy Schedule Saint Paul Parish September 2017 through May 2018 Celebration of the Eucharist Sunday Mass.. 6:00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation Sunday.... 5:00 p.m. Readings for the week... You can find readings for every day at www.usccb.org/nab The Liturgy of the Hours the official daily prayer of the church is at www.divineoffice.org The Vision That Unites Us Build Community Grow Spiritually Passionate Disciples Our Three Pastoral Priorities Welcoming Formation Stewardship The Values That Guide Us Community Prayer Evangelism Commitment
Parish Directory St. Mary Parish Office: 360-293-2101; FAX: 350-293-8556 4001 Saint Mary s Drive Anacortes, WA 98221 www. stmaryanacortes.org Parish Office Hours: Monday through Friday Monday through Friday: 10:00 a.m. Noon,1:00 p.m. 4:00 p.m. Parish Pastoral Team Rev. Mel Strazicich, Pastor Ext. 101 Ruth Miller, Parish Administrator Ext. 102 ruth.miller@stmaryanacortes.org Dominic Blanchard, PA for Faith Formation, Ext. 104 fform@stmaryanacortes.org Ben Maes, PA for Liturgy Ext. 106 liturgy@stmaryanacortes.org Facilities Supervisor (position vacant) Call the Parish Office Brandee Theriot, Administrative Assistant Ext. 103 adminast@stmaryanacortes.org Deacon Cary Parnell 509-860-5826 deaconcary@stmaryanacortes.org Parish Councils Pastoral Council: Cecilia Weldon, Co-Chair, altair27@comcast.net Maggie Thompson, Co-Chair, maggiet30@comcast.net Finance Council: George Kushner, Chair, georgekush@icloud.com St. Paul Parish Office 360-293-2101 17456 Pioneer Parkway La Conner, WA 98257 Mail: c/o 4001 Saint Marys Dr. Anacortes, WA 98221 Parish Office Hours Contact Ruth Miller at 360-293-2101 x102 ruth.miller@stmaryanacortes.org Parish Pastoral Team Rev. Mel Strazicich, Pastor Ruth Miller, Parish Administrator Immaculate Conception Regional School (360)428-3912 Gwen Rodrigues, Principal 1321 E Division St. Mount Vernon, WA 98274 Mass Intentions February 27: James Willuwiet + February 28: Maria Maes + March 1: Ruth Glaser + March 2: Joy Poole + This week at St. Mary and St. Paul Sunday, February 25 7:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 8:00 a.m. Mass 9:45 a.m. Religious Education Classes 10:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 11:00 a.m. Mass 12:00 p.m. Healing Prayer, Cry Room 12:30 p.m. Confirmation Class St. Paul, Swinomish Reservation 4:00 a.m. Rosary Makers 5:00 p.m. Religious Education 5:00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 6:00 p.m. Mass Monday, February 26 No Mass 7:00 p.m. Joy of the Lord Tuesday, February 27 9:30 a.m. Moms Lenten Bible Study 4:30 p.m. First Reconciliation 5:30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 6:00 p.m. Mass 6:45 p.m. Seven Sorrows Rosary Wednesday, February 28 8:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 9:00 a.m. Mass 10:00 a.m. Steps in a Journey/Forty Weeks 6:00 p.m. RCIA Thursday, March 1 8:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 9:00 a.m. Mass 6:00 p.m. Choir Rehearsal Friday, March 2 First Friday 8:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 9:00 a.m. Mass 10:00 a.m. Children s Holy Hour 2:30 p.m. Seven Sorrows Rosary 3:00 p.m. Divine Mercy Chaplet 5:00 p.m. Soup Supper 6:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross 6:30 p.m. Youth Game/Movie Night Saturday, March 3 First Saturday 9:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 10:00 a.m. Benediction and Mass 11:00 a.m. Choir Rehearsal 3:30 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 5:00 p.m. Mass Sunday, March 4 7:30 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 8:00 a.m. Mass 9:15 a.m. Children s Choir 9:45 a.m. Religious Education Classes 10:00 a.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 11:00 a.m. Mass 12:30 p.m. Final Confirmation Class St. Paul, Swinomish Reservation 5:00 p.m. Sacrament of Reconciliation 6:00 p.m. Mass
Praying for our Military CDR Roger Leech, USN L.CPL. Jobil Anne Robinson, USMC Thomas Mullinaux, USAF Lt. J.G. Scott Cadmus, USN ATCS (AW) Justin Lartigue, USN MM CPO Jon Walsh, USN Johnny C. McDonald, USN 1st Lt. Britta Vivaldo, USMC Lt. Kimberly Dillon, USN Major Alain Martinez, USAF Sgt Patrick Riebel, US Army LCDR Andrew Gibbons, USN MIDN2C Hope Hurtado, USN Lt. Tom Cruz, USN Miguel Boza, USAP Perpetual Adoration St. Peter Julian Eymard Chapel AVAILABLE HOURS SUNDAY: No open hours MONDAY: 4 am TUESDAY: 10 pm WEDNESDAY: 3 am THURSDAY: No open hours FRIDAY : 3 am SATURDAY: 9pm, 10pm, 11pm Prayer Partner request: Tuesday 2 pm (Two weeks per month) Contact Sally 360-293-3222 Alliance of the Two Hearts and Communion of Reparation is on the First Friday of every month, with 24-hour Adoration in the Church. Stewardship of Treasure Fiscal year 7/1/2017 6/30/2018 Collection for February 17-18, 2018 Offertory $ 5,556 Online Giving $ 550 Total $ 6,106 Weekly Goal $ 9,200 Year to Date Actual $ 312,346 Year to Date Goal $ 303,600 Annual Goal $ 478,000 Holy Days $ 1,406 Soup Supper and Stations of the Cross Please plan to join your St. Mary Parish family in fellowship and prayer each Friday during Lent for Soup Supper in the Parish Hall at 5:00 p.m. followed by Stations of the Cross in the Church at 6:00 p.m. This week s soup is provided by the Belles of St. Mary Gate of Mercy Healing Mass Friday, March 9 Our next Mass with Healing Service at St. Mary will follow Soup Supper and Stations of the Cross on Friday, March 9 (about 6:30 p.m.). Mass will be followed by adoration, soaking prayer and healing prayer provided by the Joy of the Lord prayer group, praise and worship, and time for confessions. XLT (exalt) Evening of Praise and Worship Save the date! We invite you to come and spend time with Jesus Christ, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament--the One who is the King of kings and the Lord of life. Join us in St. Mary Church on Friday, March 16 from 6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Now is the perfect time to draw closer to our Lord in this uplifting celebration! ALL ARE WELCOME!! We ll honor God with moving praise and worship music led by Ben Maes, followed by adoration of the Bless ed Sacrament and Benediction. Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11 Parish News and Events Religious Education Safe Environment This March 4, St. Mary Parish will offer one sexual abuse prevention course to your child in grades K-8, In our efforts to protect our vulnerable population, the Archdiocese of Seattle has integrated abuse prevention material into our faith formation and youth ministry curriculum in the context of teaching our youth about our Catholic faith. In creating a safe space for our children, we can teach and show them the ways of Christ in a safe environment conducive to learning. Keeping our minors and vulnerable adults safe starts with you. We ask that you take part in extending the Archbishop s effort to help evangelize our youth in a safe space. To help you understand what your youth will be offered, we ask you t o v i s i t : h t t p : / / www.seattlearchdiocese.org/sep/ faithformation.aspx. This will provide you with Parent/ Guardian Resources, to inform you about the curriculum being used while also making available the actual lessons. As the guardian, you have the right to opt your child/youth out of this lesson. You may do so by clicking on the link Opting Out. You will need to give this form to your Religious Education teacher. This announcement is to notify you of our new initiative to provide abuse prevention curriculum to our youth in Faith Formation. Unless you would like to opt your child out of this lesson you are not required to do anything. I will walk before the Lord, in the land of the living. Psalm 116
Faith Formation and Liturgy Religious Education News Children s Choir meets each Sunday at 9:15 a.m. in the Father Auer Center. Religious Education classes for grades K - 8 meet at 9:45 a.m. each Sunday. Sundays through March 4 at 12:30-2:00 p.m.: Theology of the Body for Teens for our first year Confirmation candidates and all high school students. Join us for Youth Game and Movie Night for all middle and high school students on Friday, March 2 immediately following Stations of the Cross (about 6:30 p.m.) Moms Lenten Bible Study Tuesdays at 9:30 a.m. A Lenten Moms Bible Study is now m e e t i n g e a c h T u e s d a y throughout Lent in the nursery in the FAC. Children are welcome and will remain in the room. The moms are studying the Wild Goose series about the Holy Spirit which can be found on the Formed site. This is a great opportunity for young mothers of the parish to connect with one another. Contact Heather Leahy-Mack for more information. 40 Days for Life Skagit County s 5 th 40 Day for Life Campaign has begun. Please sign up for hours to stand in prayer outside the Planned Parenthood office in Mount Vernon. Could you donate an hour or more per week? Our prayer campaign is 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week throughout Lent. Sign up or find out more at https://40daysforlife.com/localcampaigns/mount-vernon/ or contact Cindy Wiedmann at 360-9 8 2-1 6 8 2 o r robbysmother@gmail.com. First Reconciliation Tuesday, February 27 Please keep the children in our First Sacraments Class and their families in your prayers as they take a big step in their faith journey by receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation for the first time. ICRS News Immaculate Conception Regional School is seeking qualified candidates for the following positions. Please see icrsweb.org for more details. Part time school counselor (7 hours a week beginning Spring 2018) Substitute teachers Substitute instructional aide and/or hot lunch server Part time school secretary (20 hours a week beginning August 2018) FORMED Don t forget about your FREE access to our parish subscription to Formed from the Augustine Institute. Formed has a rich content of programs, movies, audio, and books to explore our Catholic Faith. The subscription is available at no cost to you and can be accessed 24/7 from any device. Register at Formed.org using our parish code GH7GC8. Sacramental Information Call St. Mary Office at 360-293-2101 for more information Infant Baptism Call the Parish Office to schedule a preparation class and baptism. Those wishing to have their baby baptized must be practicing Catholics. Adult or Child Baptism, Confirmation, or Adults Considering Becoming Catholic Call the Faith Formation Office to learn more about the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), or Rite of Christian Initiation for Children (RCIC). Weddings Weddings require a 6-month notice and preparation. Sacrament of the Sick (Anointing) Please let us know if someone is seriously ill.
Reflections for This Week What the Tenants Forgot I wonder if all the bad brokenness in the world begins with the act of forgetting forgetting God is enough, forgetting what he gives is good enough, forgetting there s always more than enough and that we can live into an intimate communion. Forgetting is kin to fear. Whenever I forget, fear walks in. We re called to be a people known by our remembering a remembering people. Forget to give thanks and you forget who God is. Forget to break and give and it s your soul that gets broken. Forget to live into koinonia, into communion and you end up living into a union of emptiness. If all our bad brokenness begins with an act of forgetting, then doesn t the act of remembering, then making Christ present by being broken and given, doesn t that lead to koinonia, communion, which literally remembers us?... That is why we re called to be the re-remembering people remembering the heart of God for us, remembering the cross and the communion and the crucifixion, remembering the koinonia, remembering to be broken and given into the world So Jesus can re-member all our broken hearts. Ann Voskamp Ann Voskamp s book One Thousand Gifts was a New York Times bestseller. This second week of Lent we read of how God tested Abraham's faith. In the gospel we witness how Jesus showed his disciples his glory, to prepare them for what is to come. A voice from a cloud said, This is my Son, my beloved. Listen to him. All we need to do for the journey ahead is to listen to him. Each day the first reading is chosen to prepare for the gospel and the theme of both readings is complementary. The second week begins with Jesus telling us: Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful... For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you. All week we will be taught by Jesus about the simple lessons of being his followers. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Jesus predicts his passion again. Again, they misunderstand, and so he says, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant. Jesus tells the Pharisees a parable about a poor man and a rich man. The rich man asks Abraham to warn his brothers about the consequences of this behavior. Abraham answers: If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead. Then Jesus tells the scribes and religious leaders the parable about the farmer whose servants were abused by his tenants. Finally, they killed his own son. Jesus concludes, the Kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people that will produce its fruit. While tax collectors and sinners are being drawn to Jesus the Pharisees complain, This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. So Jesus tells them the wonderful parable of the Prodigal Son. From the Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer, the Creighton University s Online Ministries website: http://www.creighton.edu/ Collaborative Ministry/online.html. Used with permission. Daily Prayer During this second week of Lent we continue to try to make use of more reflective time each day. We are using all the resources available to us to practice new habits and patterns. We are still in the beginning stages of that process, so we shouldn't be discouraged if it takes more practice. It is good to begin by being reminded that God is rich in mercy to us and that we should therefore be merciful to others. It is great to remember that exalting ourselves is dangerous and that there will be consequences for our mistreatment of the poor. We are like tenants of our Father's gifts to us. We can ask ourselves if we use them gratefully and return the fruits that our Lord desires, or do we reject the prophetic words that come to us? Do we reject Jesus himself? This can all be part of the background of our busy, daily life. Each morning, when our feet hit the floor, if only for a few moments, we can ask for a simple grace. At first, it might only be, Dear Lord, help me today. As we get ready for the day: Dear Lord, give me the grace to recognize my impatience, anger and judgment today. Help to soften my heart to hear your love. I need your healing, Lord. Or we might get even more concrete, Lord, Pat is such a struggle for me. Help me to remember how much you love me when I see Pat today. And, when I'm tempted to be impatient or angry, just help me pause and give that over to you, in gratitude for your love. Each of us will be able to grow in our ability to have brief conversations with our Lord. Whether driving or shopping, doing laundry or paying bills, working in our office or walking down the hall to the bathroom, we can use brief background moments to connect with our Lord. These moments of contemplation in action will give a character and shape to our day. Lent becomes a living reality for us when our days are spent with the Lord, listening to his love for us, calling us to gratitude and freedom.
From Father Straz JMJ Dear Parishioners, Word for Last Sunday: First Sunday of Lent We are very grateful to God that Fr. John Madigan was here last weekend to lead us in prayer while I was chaplain for the St. Joseph Healing Retreat at Ft. Worden. We are blessed that we have retired priests in our Archdiocese who are available to substitute on a regular basis as needed all around the Archdiocese. Let us continue to pray for one another s healing and for more vocations! New for Lent: Forty Weeks Sacred Story Journey and Whole Life Confession Program This week the Wednesday morning Steps in a Journey Group will start the Forty Weeks-Sacred Story Program by Fr. Bill Watson, S.J. Sacred Story is a 40-week prayer program based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola. Over the last year, a small group met to journey into their own Sacred Story and all participants found it very freeing for their spiritual lives. This program is ideal for those seeking to go deeper into their spiritual life or who feel stuck in their spiritual life. There are videos to go with the 40-week program. Thank you to our witness speakers who sharing with us their Sacred Story journey this weekend. For those intimidated by the 40-week program, there is a shorter 4-week program available called the Whole Life Confession that follows the same principles. The 40-week program requires a 15-minute daily prayer commitment, the 4-week program requires a 30-minute daily prayer commitment. The only cost for either program is the cost of the book. Both Sacred Story programs do NOT require a group participation component (some prefer to go through the program on their own), but participants report higher program satisfaction and results by de-briefing each week with their peers and sharing the journey together. If there are enough people interested in forming a study group in the evenings or some other time each week for either the 40-week or 4-week Sacred Story programs, please call the parish office so that we can arrange the space for you. There may already be enough people in the Wednesday morning group to split into two classes. Both programs include a Whole Life Confession, which is a variant of the traditional general confession of one s whole life. Because of this piece, which usually takes at least 30 minutes, it is helpful for me as pastor to know who and how many people are involved in the Sacred Story programs so that we can make adequate arrangements ahead of time for this uniquely graced experience of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I have found Sacred Story to be very beneficial to my ministry by enriching and shoring up my spiritual life. I pray it will be empowering for many of you as well to discover your own Sacred Story in relation to the Sacred Story of our Savior Jesus Christ. Prayers for Fr. Jude Eli, O.P. Friar s Feast Cancelled for 2018. As you know, Fr. Jude Eli had to cancel his December 2017 Parish Mission at the last minute due to heart trouble. I ve been in contact with Fr. Jude over the last several months and his health has continued to remain unstable. This week I received another call from him, again from a hospital, telling me that he s sustained another heart issue and he's been advised to cancel all his engagements for the next 6 months, hopefully to get back on track starting in September. For this reason, I am very sorry to announce that the Friar s Feast is cancelled until further notice. Please keep Fr. Jude and the Western Dominican Province in your prayers. Staffing Update As we say goodbye to Dominic this month, we are grateful that both Marcia Maes and Raquel Brinkman have stepped forward to help man the Faith Formation Office on Sundays and to take care of paperwork during the week. I hope to have a posting for the new faith formation position to go public by March 1st. Meanwhile, we have wrapped up interviews for the Office Receptionist position and hope to have that position filled by the end of the month. And lastly, NO ONE has applied for the Facility Manager position, so we will need to continue to rely on each other in building our volunteer corps to help care for our beautiful facilities and properties until someone can be found for that position. St. Paul Medicine Rosaries: Please email lenoracook823@gmail.com for more info. #pray4dano: We are asking everyone to start to pray to St. Solanus Casey for Dano s healing. - Fr. Straz
Forty Weeks Program Learn how to encounter the Lord of Mercy daily. Learn to fruitfully engage in regular Sacramental Reconciliation. Forty Weeks will help all of our family of faith learn the art of spiritual discernment. Please call the Parish Office at 360-293-2101 if you are interested in signing up for our Wednesday morning class. Class begins February 28, 2018 If you are interested in an evening class, please call the Parish Office. Forty Weeks will be a life-changing annual program to introduce St. Mary parishioners to a heartfelt personal relationship with Jesus in daily prayer, spiritual discernment and regular and fruitful practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All in all, about twenty years worth of reflection, study, testing, feedback, and refinement have gone into this updated version of St. Ignatius powerful Examen prayer. Forty Weeks is a perfect program of solid, classic spirituality updated for the third millennium to promote the new evangelization first described by Pope John Paul II early in his papacy, continued by Pope Benedict XVI and now strongly proclaimed by Pope Francis.